ICE

In Response To ICE Raids And Family Separation, Immigrant Communities Are Fighting Back

May 31, 2018 Tanner Howard, Inthesetimes.com Organize! Deportation, Detention Centers, ICE, Immigration

Since May 19, a hotline dedicated to assisting families threatened by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been ringing nonstop. That same day is when ICE agents across the Chicagoland area began a widespread sweep, including at a worksite near a Home Depot, where laborers go to find work. According to immigrants’ rights organizers, at least 80 people have been detained since the sweep began, and likely many more. On Thursday, a group of around 75 protesters gathered on Chicago’s Southwest side at the intersection of 45th St. and Western Ave., across the street from the worksite. Organizers, as well as several workers who were at the job site when ICE arrived last weekend, spoke to the gathered crowd. With ICE threatening their livelihoods and their communities, those who spoke gave urgency to the ongoing fight to end police intimidation and for immigrants to earn a living and to live without fear.

Mass ICE Raids Leave A Trail Of Misery And Broken Communities

May 14, 2018 Alice Speri, Theintercept.com Educate! Deportations, ICE, Immigration, Undocumented

A MONTH AFTER dozens of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents surrounded a meatpacking plant in Morristown, Tennessee, and detained 97 men and women who worked there, the tight-knit rural community is still reeling, but the initial shock has seeped into a quiet pain, as families adjust to lives without work and their loved ones. As those shipped to immigration detention facilities across the country started appearing before judges for bond hearings this month, some families were reunited, though still facing deportation proceedings, while others braced for long separations. As of Thursday, 20 of those arrested on April 5 were released — but many more remained in detention. “Tragedy continues to unfold,” said Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. “Some families are getting really terrible news.”

Survivor-Centered Tribunals Find ICE Guilty Of Abuses, Push For Agency’s Abolition

May 10, 2018 By Candice Bernd, Truthout.org Resist! ICE, Immigration

On a sunny Saturday afternoon outside the T. Don Hutto immigrant detention jail in Taylor, Texas, Laura Monterrosa, dressed in a judicial robe, turned toward an individual standing in for the jail's "defense," representing officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the private prison corporation CoreCivic and Williamson County. "What is your defense to the charge of sexual abuse that I experienced inside the detention center?" she asked him in Spanish as an advocate translated for the "court's" audience. The defense's answer was the sort of typical PR statement you might expect: "Part of treating our inmates and detainees with respect is giving them a safe place to live. We believe in safeguarding their rights, including protecting them from personal abuse, injury and harassment."

Oakland Passes “Strongest” Surveillance Oversight Law In US

May 4, 2018 Cyrus Farivar, Arstechnica.com Create! Deportations, ICE, Legislation, Oakland, Surveillance

OAKLAND, Calif.—Late Tuesday evening, the Oakland City Council formally approved a new city ordinance that imposes community control over the use of surveillance technology in the city. Oakland is now one of a number of California cities, including Berkeley and Davis, that mandates a formal annual report that details "how the surveillance technology was used," among other requirements. In the wake of Oakland’s 2013 efforts to approve federal grant money to construct a "Domain Awareness Center," the city has now also created a "Privacy Advisory Commission," or PAC. This body, composed of volunteer commissioners from each city council district, acts as a privacy check on the city when any municipal entity (typically the police department) wants to acquire a technology that may impinge on individual privacy.

#ICEOnTrial: Advocates Rally To Hold Federal Agency Accountable For Systemic Abuses

April 25, 2018 Tina Vasquez, Rewire.news Resist! ICE, Immigration, Undocumented

As the #AbolishICE movement gains steam, immigrant rights organizations are coordinating a series of “people’s tribunals” to hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accountable for, advocates say, its “culture of secrecy and systemic abuse.” Dubbed #ICEOnTrial, the tribunals are being spearheaded by the Detention Watch Network, a national coalition of organizations working to expose the injustices of the immigration detention and deportation systems. The network isn’t mincing words about why it’s protesting ICE. “Under an explicitly anti-immigrant and racist Trump administration, ICE is emboldened to be less transparent, unaccountable and act with increased impunity,” the network explains on its website.

Woman Who Alleged Assault By Guard Finally Released From Detention

March 21, 2018 By Tina Vasquez, Rewire.news Resist! Abuse, ICE, Immigration, Sexual Assault, Undocumented

A Salvadoran woman who came forward four months ago with allegations of sexual assault by a guard has been released from the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor, Texas, where her abuser remained employed for the bulk of her detainment. Laura Monterrosa was released from detention Friday evening after a months-long campaign by the advocacy organization Grassroots Leadership, culminating with a letter to the Department of Homeland Security signed by more than 45 Congressional representatives calling for an investigation into sexual abuse allegations at Texas detention centers. The members of Congress demanded an expedited audit to assess Hutto’s compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Getting released from detention has been a long road for Monterrosa, who Grassroots Leadership says is “adjusting to her new environment and recovering from the trauma she has experienced.”

ICE Spokesman Resigns After Refusing To Spread “Misleading Facts” That Labeled Undocumented Immigrants As “Dangerous Criminals”

March 17, 2018 Rachel Janik, Splcenter.org Educate! ICE, Immigration, Repression, Undocumented

James Schwab, formerly the spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s San Francisco Division, resigned after objecting to statements from ICE and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he says are false. Schwab told CNN he shared his concerns about the inaccuracies with ICE leadership, and was told to “deflect to previous statements.” After the agency showed no interest in correcting the misinformation, which included blanket demonization of undocumented immigrants as “public safety threats,” Schwab stepped down. On Monday, he explained his decision to CNN: "I just couldn't bear the burden — continuing on as a representative of the agency and charged with upholding integrity, knowing that information was false." The falsehoods he cited came from Sessions and ICE Deputy Director Thomas D. Homan.

Protesters Descend On ICE San Francisco Headquarters After Immigration Raids

March 2, 2018 Antonia Blumberg, Huffingtonpost.com Resist! ICE, Immigration, Protests, San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO ― Hundreds of activists gathered on Wednesday outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building here to protest the arrests of more than 150 undocumented immigrants in recent days. Local activist groups organized the “emergency rally” to respond to the mass arrests in Northern California, just two weeks after more than 200 people were arrested in similar raids in the Los Angeles area. Some 200 protesters convened outside the ICE building in downtown San Francisco under an overcast sky, demanding an end to the raids. Several groups of demonstrators surrounded the building, shouting chants, marching, locking arms and carrying signs while police and ICE security looked on.

Texas High Schoolers Walk Out To Protest ICE Detaining Of Student

February 16, 2018 By Daniel Hampton, Patch.com Resist! Deportations, ICE, Protests, Youth Activism

HOUSTON, TX — Dozens of high schoolers in Houston walked out of class on Wednesday in support of a classmate who was living in the United States illegally and was detained by federal immigration authorities following a fight at school. Dennis Rivera-Sarmiento, a 19-year-old student at Stephen F. Austin Senior High School in the Greater Eastwood neighborhood, was arrested on Jan. 30 on a charge he assaulted a student. Court documents allege Rivera-Sarmiento struck a female in the head with his fist, KTRK-TV reported. But the immigrant advocacy organization United We Dream says Rivera-Sarmiento was defending himself against bullies who were making fun of him over his immigration status. The group says the bullies even threw bottles at him.

Federal Court Finds ICE And L.A. Sheriff Collaborated To Unlawfully Detain Thousands Of Suspected Immigrants

February 14, 2018 Staff, Aclusocal.org Resist! ICE, Immigration, Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — On Thursday, a federal court in California ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) unlawfully detained thousands of suspected immigrants on the basis of unconstitutional requests from ICE known as immigration detainers. The landmark decision entitles class members to injunctive relief and monetary damages and is a result of two lawsuits brought by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), the law firm of Kaye, McLane, Bednarski & Litt, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), and the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project. "The court's decision vindicates years of work by the Los Angeles immigrant community to challenge the Sheriff's Department's abuses and throws a major wrench in the Trump administration's deportation machine," said Jessica Bansal, litigation director at NDLON.

ICE Detains Immigrant Rights Leader Ravi Ragbir, Sparks Manhattan Protests

January 13, 2018 By Nicole Brown and Lauren Cook, Amny.com Resist! Activists, ICE, Immigration, Protests

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center on the Lower West Side Thursday, chanting “ICE out now” and demanding to know the whereabouts of a prominent immigrant rights leader, just hours after two city councilmen were arrested during a similar protest in Foley Square. City councilmen Ydanis Rodriguez and Jumaane Williams were among 18 people who were arrested during the Foley Square protest sparked by the arrest of Ravi Ragbir, the executive director of the faith-based immigrant rights group New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City. Ragbir was detained when he showed up for a check-in with ICE, organizers of the rally said. Outside of the ICE building at 201 Varick St. Thursday night, former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said she stands with Ragbir as well as her former colleagues who were arrested.

Police Put Hoods, Earmuffs On Protesters Detained By Portland ICE Facility

October 14, 2017 Staff, www.seattletimes.com Resist! ICE, Police, Portland, Protesters Arrested, Protests

By Staff of The Associated Press - PORTLAND, Ore. — Authorities handcuffed several Oregon protesters who tried to block a bus from taking immigrants to a Tacoma, Washington, detention center. Dozens of protesters lined up Wednesday afternoon outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland. They blocked the entrance and exit for several hours while several activists linked themselves together. Federal Protective Services officers started arresting protesters at about 5:30 p.m. The agency has not said how many were detained. The Portland Mercury reported that six people were handcuffed — three members of the chain and three of their supporters. Videos showed Portland police placing hoods and earmuffs over the heads of protesters who were bound together. Portland police Sgt. Chris Burley said that was done for protection, because officers initially believed they needed spark-prone power tools to separate them. Burley said Portland police made one arrest, but it was not directly related to the protest.

‘Safe City’ Raids Teach Us About New Era Of Enforcement

October 9, 2017 Staff, www.mijente.net Strategize! Deportations, ICE, Immigration, Undocumented

By Staff of Mijente - Last week Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released information that they haddetained 450 people across the country in cities and counties that have restrictions on the participation of local police in immigration enforcement, or so-called “Sanctuary” cities. Although this was not the 10K person mass raid that community members were warned about a few weeks ago, there are five elements we thought important to highlight that show us that we are in a new era of enforcement that requires us to track emerging tactics and technologies and have with solid and innovative response. And in an era where any contact with local law enforcement becomes an opportunity to detain, deport, and incarcerate, highlighting the role of local governments in creating real sanctuaries and pushing back against criminalization is key. As we figure out what those responses are, here are five things that we should be paying attention to in responding to Operation ‘Safe City’ and any that follow: This is what mass raids look like. We don’t have to wait for a 10,000 person raid to be announced in order to sound the alarm. This is what a raid and the propaganda that follows it looks like. The numbers and regions will vary, but ICE will always say the people they detained are dangerous and emphasize the stories that reinforce that narrative

Dozens Arrested Blocking ICE To Halt Couple’s Deportation

September 26, 2017 Andrea Germanos, www.commondreams.org Resist! Arrest, Deportations, ICE, Immigration, Protests, Undocumented

By Andrea Germanos for Common Dreams - Dozens of people were arrested Monday morning for blocking the federal building housing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Hartford, Connecticut to denounce the deportation of a couple that's lived in the U.S. for over twenty years. Meriden couple Giaconda and Franklin Ramos, who came to the U.S. from Ecuador in 1993 and have no criminal record, are scheduled to board a flight back to their home country on Sept. 29. Demonstrators sat on the ground blocking the entrances and held banners reading "Keep the Ramos family together" and "ICE stop your ethnic cleansing." They, along with other demonstrators gathered to the side of the entrances, chanted "Not one more." The Record Journal describes the Ramoses as "the most recent family facing separation after policy changes under the Trump administration ceased the automatic renewal of deportation stays resulting in a 60 percent increase in removal orders for residents with work tax identification cards." As local Fox 61 explains, the couple "got their first deportation notice from ICE in 2005. Their case was then closed but come 2012, they were granted a stay of removal. However, it was this past June when their stay was denied." Their two sons, 24-year old Jason and 17-year-old Erick, are U.S. citizens and attend Central Connecticut State University.

ICE Illegally Held a U.S. Citizen in Detention Center for 1,273 Days

September 10, 2017 Jennie Neufeld, www.alternet.org Educate! Donald Trump, ICE, Immigration

By Jennie Neufeld for Alternet. What happens when ICE wrongly detains a U.S. citizen for almost three and a half years? Well, a whole lot of nothing. Take the case of Davino Watson, who was held in ICE detention facilities for 1,273 days faced with the improbable task of proving his American citizenship without access to a lawyer. According to two United States Court of Appeals judges, his detention was simply business as usual. But unlike his undocumented counterparts, Watson has been a U.S. citizen since 2002. ICE had no legal authority to hold Watson, or any other U.S. citizen. Watson, born in Jamaica, became a citizen under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which allows children under the age of 18 to automatically join their parents in citizenship if they are lawful permanent residents. Sadly, Watson’s story is “far from unusual,” says Chief Judge Katzmann. Thousands of Americans have faced detention or the threat of deportation—nearly 21,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents have been unlawfully detained in a four-year period. And only 14 percent of detainees are able to acquire legal counsel . . .

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